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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Elephants Display Musical Appreciation and Talent

Awesome. The herbivorous elephant has one of
the largest brains on the planet, built entirely from nutrients found in plant foods. I have never seen any dogs, cats, or
other carnivores playing musical instruments or responding to music the
way these wild herbivores do.

The elephant has a 4.2 kg brain, about 3 times as large as humans or dolphins, and a cortical neuron count of 11,000 million, about the same as humans, and twice that of dolphins or chimps. They build and maintain their brains without regularly consuming seafood, marrow, muscles, or brains of other animals, as do millions of humans around the globe who adhere to plant-based diets for philosophical or cultural reasons: Seventh Day Adventists, Buddhists, Jains, Taoists, and Hindus [1].

"Millions of individuals around the modern world, including some 2.5% of Americans and 4% of Canadians (American Dietetic Association and Dieticians of Canada, 2003), consume a diet classified as vegan or vegetarian. There are also a number of religious doctrines that emphasize abstention from animal consumption, including Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, involving a significant percentage of modern human populations. In the case of these vegetarians, many have maintained such a restricted diet for generations. Neurological impairment under generational deficiency of DHA should result if dietary DHA is essential for neural function. Given that these populations experience normal brain growth and development in the absence of dietary DHA, it seems reasonable to question the nature of our dietary requirements for n-3 fatty acids. If preformed DHA is essential, and only significantly available from aquatic dietary sources, the expected outcome of a vegetarian lifestyle is the failure of neural growth and development. On the other hand, there is no evidence to suggest that the capacity for DHA synthesis in vegetarians is limited (Sanders, 1999). A logical explanation involves the sufficiency of LNA from the dietary intake of plants to provide sufficient DHA for the neural development of these populations."[1]

Here's part 1 of a longer documentary on the Thai elephant orchestra led by two scientists:

9 comments:

Re: Awesome. The herbivorous elephant has one of the largest brains on the planet, built entirely from nutrients found in plant foods. I have never seen any dogs, cats, or other carnivores playing musical instruments or responding to music the way these wild herbivores do.

Who cares what do those majestic animals eat? What difference would that make to their graceful way if they ate nothing but mushrooms?

Whales, to which elephants are related, are even more intelligent, have bigger brains and some eat animals, some eat plants, some eat both, so what?

Elephants simply illustrate that terrestrial mammals can build very large brains and exhibit a high degree of cognitive capacity while deriving all of their nutrition from plants.

They and the millions of humans I referred to provide evidence contradicting the claims that terrestrial animals in general, and our species in particular, require dietary DHA (from land or marine animal tissues) to build and maintain large brains. As detailed in the paper to which I referred, we have no evidence that humans require dietary DHA from animal tissue for neurological growth, development, and maintenance. I thought I would bring this evidence to the attention of my readers while also giving them an opportunity to enjoy the videos.

Large herbivores have large brains, and large carnivores, predators also have large brains.

In case of elephants, their ability to play some music or paint is not a proof of superior or inferior intelligence, or superiority or inferiority of any kind; it is a proof of artistic abilities. Birds can produce music too.

All primates seem to be omnivores and monkeys do eat some animals, in small amounts.

Regarding DHA, an absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Some animals can synthesize DHA and EPA out of other stuff, some can't and have to consume it. If you want to bet that your body can synthesize them, then you can of course try on yourself but I would be VERY careful before recommend that to others based on beliefs rather than facts. You risk doing more harm than good! Do you have some new good DHA/human synthesis facts/papers/studies? The last time I looked, the rate of synthesis, of DHA/EPA (out of ALA) seems tiny and an estimate was uncertain ranging from 0.1% to 10%.

Internet fraudster, Anthony Colpo, was recently B-U-S-T-E-D (by PlantPositive of YouTube) giving phony and bogus references to the studies of Dr. Dean Ornish in a deliberate attempt to mislead the public for personal profit.

Anthony Colpo has been running a scam now for a decade. The video below is PROOF of his fraud, unbelievable damning and he can NEVER talk his way out of this.

The issue with elephants is that the percentage of time spent eating. Elephants, compared to humans spend a higher percentage time eating food, simply because the energy density of plants is lower than that of animal sources.

It's interesting to note that our herbivorous cousins, the gorilla spend approximately 30% of their total time per day eating. I believe there is an estimate somewhere that they would need 733 calories more per day to achieve parity with human intelligence. I think that there may be an upper limit in this regard for intelligence for herbivores.

Look at the chimpanzee by contrast. It is pretty much the closest thing we have to a relative. It's an omnivore.

By contrast, there are other animals that are carnivorous that have also evolved very high intelligence. Dolphins are a good example and perhaps with a few million years of evolution, they could perhaps cross a barrier?

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Most Published Research Findings Are FALSE

In the August 2005 publication of the online PLOS, John Ioannidis thoroughly explained "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False." He showed that "Simulations show that for most study designs and settings, it is more likely for a research claim to be false than true. Moreover, for many current scientific fields, claimed research findings may often be simply accurate measures of the prevailing bias."

I don't remember when I first read his paper (probably no later than 2010), but I do know that I didn't begin to take him very seriously until about February 2017. Up until then, I thought that I could discover the truth about diet, nutrition and health by sorting through and analyzing published diet and nutrition research, which to say the least presents contradictory findings from different camps with different biases.

In late 2016, after more than 5 years eating an apparently nutrient-dense, high protein vegan diet, I had a blood test that showed that I had significantly low levels of globulin and phosphorus, indicating that I was likely not getting adequate protein or phosphorus from that diet.

Since then, I have worked on ridding myself of the belief that published diet and nutrition "science" or research is credible by virtue of its publication. I have worked on switching to relying on my own direct experience and senses of need, preference, taste, and satisfaction to guide my food choices. I am hoping to help others do the same.

If I could relay only one message from this point forward it would be: DON'T PUT YOUR FAITH IN SCIENCE AND DON'T RELY ON AUTHORITIES. BECOME SELF-RELIANT AND AUTONOMOUS.

Disclaimer

At one time I used this blog to explore and support the theory and practice of modernized, highly animal-based paleo and low-carb diets.

As I evolved, I became a paleo-diet heretic, and this blog became an exploration and presentation of the evidence values that support the practice of a whole foods plant-based diet.

Everything changes, and my experience, knowledge and understanding are no exception. In short, I have found the weaknesses and faults in plant-based ideology and practice as well.

I have tried to digest and assimilate the apparently conflicting information coming from the opposite ends of the diet debates (meat-based and high-fat vs. plant-based high-carbohydrate).

I have incorporated that new information into my world view and perspective and in the process revealed and corrected my errors when necessary.

The Chinese sage Chuang Tzu observed: "Tao is obscured when men understand only one pair of opposites, or concentrate only on a partial aspect of being. Then clear expression also becomes muddled by mere wordplay, affirming this one aspect and denying all the rest. The pivot of Tao passes through the center where all affirmations and denials converge. He who grasps the pivot is at the still-point from which all movements and oppositions can be seen in their right relationship... Abandoning all thought of imposing a limit or taking sides, he rests in direct intuition. "

Through understanding and experimenting with the dietary opposites, in late February 2017 I came to an understanding of the still-point between the extremes and the role of "intuition" from one's True Nature in solving the apparent dilemma.

About Me

I am a member of MENSA who has not always made smart choices. I have a master's degree in philosophy, and do my best to pursue truth and virtue. I have made mistakes in public, and have not been afraid to admit it. I believe that if I'm not making mistakes, I'm not learning or growing or living fully. Like Thoreau, I believe that "life is an experiment to a great extent untried," and that a philosopher should show by example a better way of life, not just spout doctrines and arguments. I value freedom and abhor slavery. I have a master's degree in Oriental medicine and the course work equivalent of a bachelor's degree in nutrition. I seek health, fitness, and longevity through self-discipline in physical training and food. In short, I practice macrobiotics: philosophy, freedom, fitness, and food. Hopefully others can learn from my successes and my mistakes.